Embroidery

My passion for embroidery was one of the main
reasons i decided to venture into the fashion world
so when i heard about a hand embroidery competition i knew God was giving me an opportunity

and i got even more excited when i found out that i will be competing for
$10,000 USD,
free flights and 4 nights accomodation in Sydney, Australia to
attend the prize giving ceremony,
1 year mentoring by London College of Fashion (how cool can that be?),
1 day course at the royal school of needlework,
work experience at Marion Thomas Studio, and an opportunity to contribute to her next collection

i had a huge zeal after signing up for the competition
i only had
' LONDON LONDON LONDON'
and
'SYDNEY SYDNEY SYDNEY'
on my mind



but
......

i did not manage to get into the finals

well, will try harder next year.

The main theme was :
ECCLESIASTICAL

and under that theme we had to choose either
1. Lady in black
2. 1001 nights
3. Travelling circus

Being very much attracted to the gypsy culture, i somewhat concluded that
gypsy = traveling circus

so wala

i had a hard time understanding the brief of the competition
as my teacher once told me, there is never a 'right' or 'wrong' in art
it all depends on the way you interpret it

The Brief

3.Travelling Circus
A real mix of gypsy, country, Irish (Celtic strap work) and Romanian
craftsmanship. Joyous Pentecostal celebration, a continuation of summer’s
feeling, for item dressing and ‘boho’.
Random fabric mixes-tweeds, plaids, florals, overprinted wools, embroidered
flannels and cords, wool lace and reworked folk flowers, with dull silver
accents.
Craft bright reds, blues, yellows and greens, with sober darks.
A striking worn, lived-in look evoking travelling entertainment and fun,
combining distressed fabrics with heirloom pieces.

So my basic idea was to embroid
patterns, designs, symbols that represents different countries
such as,

China- peony flower as the national flower, the traditional chinese circle

a Cross- like i said, i had a hard time understanding the brief and relating 'ecclesiastical' and
'traveling gypsy'
this cross was done last because i realise there was no elements of ecclesiastical in it

Indian embroidery patterns

Romanian fabric details

Design from the Huichol natives in Mexico

Indian henna prints

and then i combined all the pieces to make a patch work skirt
the whole skirt was suppose to be covered, but
i guess i got lazy

it was a great experience
i managed to practice and polish my embroidery skills


so i guess i'll just try out again next year


oh,
this is the link to all the second stage winners ,
i honestly thought some of them didn't deserve to be there,
but hey, thats the sore me talking

http://www.hand-embroidery.co.uk/comp2007/2ndStage/index.html

GYPSY CORSET BELT

I entered this belt for an embroidery competition

and the very reason it is here....

didn't do too well...

Anyway,
this 'gypsy' corsetbelt is detailed with hours of hand sewn embroidery
The designs on it are all inspired by native american costumes,
patterns and symbols

The embroidery floss used in this belt
are all from DMC, so quality of the thread is assured

The width of the belt is 8 inches
and gradually decreases to 4 inches
from front to back

The belt is 31 inches in length

There are 6 eyelets on each side
for the purpose of a cross lace up opening
also serves as a special design element for the belt

Price: $35
Shipping: $3 ( in the United States)

VIOLET RASPBERRY ZIPPER CASE

Don't you just love the color purple?
the color of
Lavenders, lilac.....and ..er...Barney..

But wait,

you gotta love red too....
the color of roses, raspberry...ferrari?

Why can't you have both???

in ALL Shades of those colors?

Here lies the solution...

I don't think you can ever get too creative with your pencil case
esspecially if you're a 'i want it all ,and i need it to be in this shape,
that color, that design' kind of person

This is a zipper case measuring 10 by 4 inches,
Wide enough for your school supplies
you won't be able to find anything like this sold in stores,

ok, maybe you can, but definitely NOT in
a combination of red and purple

It also serves good purpose for entertainment,
for example,

Mr Skalavotch is educating the class about the difference
between kazakstan and kyrgyzstan

which by the way, you didn't even know existed




Start playing around with your pencil case,
take ALL the zippers apart

did i mention this case is made out of 10 zippers,
5 on each side
and ALL of the zippers serves as openings?

and if Mr.Skalavotch starts rambling about
how to say hello in the kazakh language
which is

      Khayrly kün

This is when your zipper case serves as a toy,
be creative!

for now, i think i have done an impresive job in transforming
my zipper case into an odd shaped
lantern

Price: $13
Shipping: $2 (in the United States)

POCKET FULL OF DAISIES

Did i mention that i absolotely LOVE embroidery?

Pocket full of daisies is made of
denim and is detailed with hand embroidery

of pink daisies

DMC threads are used for their quality

The center of the flower are tiny gold beads
sewn more than twice to ensure quality

This case measures 10 by 4 1/4 inches
and has a zipper as an opening

perfect size as a pencil case
or a handy kit to store items like your keys
dollar bills, coins and etc

Price: $11
shipping: $2 ( in the United States)

MADAME

Madame is a mini denim clutch with the height of 5 inches and width starting at 6 inches, gradually expanding to 8 inches at the bottom

The front part of the clutch is decorated with zipper red roses
and rosettes made out of a floral japanese print fabric

the clutch has a inch wide red button as a stopper

Carry your daily necessities in this traditional looking red clutch

Price: $14
Shipping: $2

PURPLE ROSE CLUTCH

this clutch, purse or wallet .. whatever you prefer
is made out of denim

the front of the clutch is decorated with purple roses
that are made out of zippers
the roses are topped with leaves that are made out of the
same material

this clutch is 4 inches in height
and the length starts out at 6 inches at the top
and gradually expands to 8 inches at the bottom

the back of the clutch is sealled by a loop
made of bias tape and a button
as a stopper

Could be a case for your sunglasses,
a travelling bag for your make up,
or a little carry-around kit to store some dollar bills and your keys

Price: $13
Shipping: $2( in the United States)

SOLD-CHRISTMAS MISTLETOE

Now i know its no where near christmas,
but because of the patterns on the leaf ornament,
i decided to name this piece that way.

Made with a see through sweet olive green
oblong bead.
It has 3 mistletoe leaves at the bottom alternating
between tiny gold beads

This piece measure 2 1/2 inches

Price: $6
Shipping: $2

POCAHONTAS

This piece was inspired by the red indian culture,
or more specifically the Native American feather,
which is a symbol of prayers,
sources of ideas or marks of honor


Pocahontas measures 3 inches excluding the hook.

Price: $7
Shipping: $2 ( In the United States)

SOLD-JUST FOR FUN

I was looking at my widely spreaded collection
of miscellaneous junk.. aka buttons, beads, hooks, wires
of odd numbers and colors

and i came upon these little zipper heads at the corner
These are a pair of earrings assembled with 4 zipper heads
of light olive green, mustard yellow,
orange and red

i can guarentee you that you can't find stuff like this
in stores

this piece measures slightly more than 1 1/2 inch

It takes a daring soul to put them on....
someone with a strong street fashion sense

Maybe someone with tight skinny velvet pants, an old white vintage beatles
t-shirt paired with a brightly printed tie or vest

Someone that has 'UNIQUE' printed on their heads (you can replace
that with 'WEIRD' and "ONE OF A KIND')

Anyway, It's just for fun!

Price: $4
shipping: $2

SEA URCHIN

This is a pretty vintage necklace assembled with green, teal and blue beads.

this necklace measures 16 1/2 inches.

This length is perfect as it
hangs slightly bellow the neck point.

Price: $7
Shipping: $2 ( In the United States)